The Chinese manganese ore market has continued to follow a soft trend in the past week, with prices moving down slightly. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 44 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.25/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 44 percent Mn content are at $6.25/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 38 percent grade Mn ore from Australia are in the range of $6.00/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.92/dmtu.
With the steel market still characterized by downward movement, the purchase prices released by Chinese manganese alloy producers have continued to decline negatively impacting the manganese ore market. Trading activity in the Chinese manganese ore market has slowed down, while foreign quoted prices do not seem so strong anymore. A wait-and-see atmosphere now prevails in the market, while traders are being cautious. It is thought that it will be difficult for China's manganese ore market to emerge from its current weakness in the short term.